All American City Application 2014

The National Civic League announced the ten All-America Cities tonight during a celebration at the Grand Hyatt Denver. The award is given to communities for outstanding civic accomplishments. This year had a focus on healthy communities and efforts to address challenges such as obesity, chronic illness, physical inactivity and the need for safe routes to school and walk-able communities.

Listed alphabetically by state, the 2014 All-America Cities are:

Montgomery, Alabama

San Pablo, California

Brush!, Colorado

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Chelsea, Massachusetts

Independence, Oregon

Brownsville, Texas

Hampton, Virginia

Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Source Credit: National Civic League

All American City Selection Process

For two days, groups of civic leaders and community activists met in Denver to present their stories of positive change to a jury of civic experts and to network and exchange ideas and insights.

"Congratulations on a job well done," said Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock in a message to the All-America Cities. "Not only have you proven your ability to innovate, work together and take on the complex challenges facing America's communities, you've given inspiration and ideas to other communities across the country."

The 2014 All-America Cities applied grassroots efforts to address such issues as childhood obesity, economic development, neighborhood revitalization, and green-way development. They engaged the public directly in budget-making, city planning and community-wide fitness programs. They promoted local arts and cultural opportunities, reduced high school drop-out rates and turned polluted brown-fields into parks.

"These communities are amazing," said National Civic League President Gloria Rubio-Cortés. "They deserve to be recognized for the great work they are doing to make their communities stronger, healthier and more inclusive. They have found innovative ways of aligning existing programs to achieve greater impact."